Electric gas lighting and extinguishing device



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

LE ROY S. WHITE.

ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING DEVICE.

Patented Aug. 7, 1883).

W b m W (No Model) 2 Sheet-Sheet 2.

LE ROY s, WHITE ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING DEVICE.

No. 282,816. Patented Aug. '7," 1 883.

V a P t A 0 l J 0 I My .. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L'E ROY S. WHITE, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

a ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 282,816, dated August '7, 1883.

Application filed February 9, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LE RoY S. WHITE, of Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Turning on, Lighting, and Shutting off Gas by Electricity, of which the following is I a specification, reference being had to the accoinpanying drawings. IO My invention relates to theclass of electric gas-burners in which the valve is opened by the direct action of an electro-magnet, to the armature of which the valve is attached, without intervening mechanism, and which is arranged within the gas-chamber or body of the burner.

The invention consists in-a novel manner of combining with the valve and the electro-mag' net which opens it a permanent magnet, which is moved bytheelectro-magnet, so as to form of itself a positive stop or look to hold the valve open, and which, when moved back to its original position, will leave the valve free to close automatically.

Theinvention also consists in other combinations hereinafter described, and referred to in the claims.

Figure 1 represents a vertical section through an apparatus embodying m'y improvements. 0 Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the plane of the dotted line y'y, Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a similar section on the plane of the dotted line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig; 4 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a modification of my invention.

A A is a case of metal to receive the electro-1nagnet and other parts of the operating mechanism. This case constitutes a portion of the body of the burner, through which the gas passes, and has at its top a projection, B, 1

to receive an ordinary gasburner tip, 0.

D is a socket forming the bottom of the case A, and having an internal thread for attaching it to the gas-bracket and to hold in place the valve-seat E, and also to allow the adjustment of the same.

F is a brass valve, with a stem that passes through and is fastened to the round ar1na-- ture G, andpasses through the hollow core H of the electro-magnet, and has secured to its upper part the flange I. The under side of this flange may be considered as forming a The upper are equal to the bore of the case; but in order to allow the gas to pass freely to the burner when the valve F is open the edges of the heads are notched (see a a, Figs. 2 and 3) in several places, and the bobbin is not wound quite full of wire. Therefore the passage of the gas from the valve to the burner is not ob structed. One end of the wire of the coil H is connected to one nut, K, and the other end is connected to the other nut, K

0 O is a horseshoe permanent magnet, pivoted to the headL, at U, midway from its ends,- in such a way as to allow either the north or south pole to approach or recede from the up per end of the core H of the electro-magnet, according to the polarity of the upper end of the core H-that is, if the polarity of the said end of the core II is north it will attract the south pole of the small permanent horseshoemagnet. The reverse of the above would give the opposite result. On the upper face of one end of the magnet 0 there is a projection, P, which may be pin-screwed into the said magnet of suitable length to hold the valve up when it ispushed under the flange I, which rises with the valve. In the drawings the valve F is shown closed, resting on its seat E.-

Holes are drilled transversely through the casing A, the head K, andthe nuts K K". Screws M M pass through these holes, and the said nuts are tapped to receive the screw-threads of the screws M M for making the connections of the conductingwire. The holes in the case A are larger than those in the head K and nuts K K so that the screws M M will not be in metallic contact with the said case when screwed into the said nuts. These nuts are not in metallic contact except with the ends of the conducting-wire and the screws M M Q is an elastic contact-breaker, consisting of a wire or flat metal spring that is fastened to the case-A, and connected to the nut K in the head K by the screw M, and insulated from the case by some suitable material, I). The insulating material 1) packs the enlarged holes in the case A, making them gas-tight. The line-wire is attached to the screw llP, which is insulated from the case A by the insulating material I), like that around the screw 1V1. WVe 110w have an insulated connection from M through the nut K, through the coil H, through K, M, and Q, and to the contactpoint U at the gasj et, which point is at the end of ashort wire, N, attached to the case A by the screw Y, returning by the wire N and the case A to the ground connection or wire, as seems desirable.

S is a projection on the contact-breaker Q, made of insulating material, for the pin T to act up on when forced up by the flange I, which is raised every time the valve F is opened by the attraction of the armature G to -the elec tro-magnet.

tis a valve of non-conducting material attached to the pin T, for entirely closing the opening in the case A, through which said pin passes when said pin has reached the end of its downward movement. As the pin Tpresses against the projection S, it will move Q sufficiently to break the circuit at U,.producing a spark at that point. This does not happen, however, until the flange I has nearly completed its upward movement and the valve F is almost fully open.

The direction of the current andits operation are thus described: The current enters at M" through K to the coil, through K and the screw M and the contact-breaker Q, which is in contact with N at U, through Nto the case A,baek to the key and battery. An ordinary sparking-coil or eleetro-magnet may be used to increase the spark, and a suitable double key that will send either a positive ornegative current, as desired, one button of the said key to be used to open and the other to shut the valve. One wire of the conductor goes direct to the screw 1W, which connects it with one end of the coil H, and the current passes out from the other end of the coil, through the nut K, the screw M, contact-breaker Q, wire N, and easing A, back to the gas pipe, and thence to the key. The wires from both poles of the battery pass to the key, and one wire extends from the key to the screw M and another from the key to the gas-pipe or to the ground, to make a return to complete the circuit. Four wires in all lead from the keyviz., two to the battery, one to the screw M of the burner, and one to the gas-pipe or ground. The particular button of the key that is pressed deter mines the direction of the current. A current sent either way raises the valve; but if it is desired to be left open the direction of the current must be such that it will make the upper end of the core H of a different polarity from the end of the magnet O, on which the pin or projection P is attached. The current being sent in the proper direction, the projection I valve.

will be drawn under the washer I and support the valve, and remain so until the current is sent in the opposite direction, when it will re verse the action of the magnet O, and when the key is relieved the valve will drop in place, shutting off the gas. Every time the flange I on the valve-stem strikes the pin T the latter moves Q enough to break the contact at U, thereby making a spark at that point, and if the current sent is the proper one the gas will be lighted and remain so until the current is reversed.

In the modification represented in Fig. 4, V is an armature consisting of a stationary piece of soft iron, which is secured to the top of the casing A on the inside of said casing, and provided with a passage or passages leading to the burner-tip. \V is the core of the magnet, having its lower end shaped to form the valve F. The core therefore forms the stem of the This core is adapted to slide up and down within the coil H, as it is attracted or not by the armature V, thus opening and closing the valve F. The flange I in this case is similar to that represented in Fig. 1, but attached directly to the sliding core WV, which constitutes a valvestem. Grooves may be made on the sides of the core IV, or notches may be made in the edges of the heads K and L, as in Figs. 2 and 3, and perforations may be made through the flange I, to allow the gas to pass up to the burner-tip C. The apparatus operates in all respects like that previously described, except that the valve, instead of moving with the armature, in this apparatus -moves with the core of the magnet.

One merit of this invention is that the valve when left after the operation of the electromagnet will always be either positively locked open or else is closed, and will never stick hal'l way, because after the current has been sent one way and is broken there is nothing to hold the valve open, and it drops and closes by gravitation; but after the current has been sent the other *ay and is broken, the valve must be. locked open by the permanent magnet. This is a very special merit, and it is a defect of many other devices for the same purpose that there is not an absolute certainty, when the attendant leaves the key, whether the burner is open or closed.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. r The combination, with a gasburner and a valve adapted to close automatically when released, of an electro-magnet for opening the valve and a permanent magnet,whieh, by the said electro-magnet, is moved so as to form of.

itself a positive stop or lock to hold the valve open, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, with a gas-burner and a valve opening by an upward movement, and adapted to close automatically by gravitation when released, of an electro-magnet for opening the valve, and a permanent magnet which is moved by the electro-magnet, so as to form.

of itself a positive stop or look for holding the valve in an elevated position and open,

substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, with a gas-burner, of a puppet-valve opening by an upward movement, and adapted to close autopiatlcally by gravitation when released, an electro-magnet for'opening the valve, and a permanent magnet which is moved by the electro-magnet, so as to form of itself a positive stopor lock for holding the valve in an elevated position and open, all said parts being arranged with in the gas-chamber or body of the burner, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination, with a gas-burner, of a valve opening in an upward direction, and

adapted to close automatically when released, an electro-magnet for opening the valve, a valve-sten1 extending from the valve upward through the electromagnet, and provided above the elcctro-magnet with a shoulder or flange, and a permanent magnet arran god above the eleotro-magnet, and adapted to be' moved by the eleotro-magnet into a position below the shoulder on the stem, so as to form of it- I self a positive stop or look for holding the valve in an elevated position and open, substantially as herein described.

5. The combination, with the burner-body A, of the electro-magnet K L H H, inclosed therein, the armature G, and attached valve F, the flange I 011 the stem of said valve, and

the permanent magnet 0, having a stop pro-.

jection, P, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with a gas-burner, of a valve and an electro-magnet for opening the same, both arranged within the body of the burner, a contact-breaker for producing an electric spark arranged entirely outside the burner, and a pin or rod passing from the body of the burner to the outside thereof, and interposed between the said valve and contactbreaker, for producingthe action of the contact-breaker by the opening of the valve, substantially as herein described.

LE ROY S. WHITE.

Witnesses:

EDITH S. WHITE, EMMA L. MINTIE. 

